Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Services: Finance

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they estimate could be raised for adult social care by each one per cent increase in the council tax precept for (1) each named local authority with responsibilities for adult social care, and (2) the total for all such local authorities in England.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The attached table shows a council by council breakdown of potential receipts from use of the Adult Social Care precept. 17-18 ASC precept receipts include an element due to take-up of ASC precept in 16-17 (which councils would not have in 17-18 had they not taken this option)17-18 receipts also factor in tax base growth in line with the geometric mean average tax base growth seen between 13-14 and 16-17Potential council tax receipts due to Adult Social Care precept in 2017-18, £mASC Precept increase in 2017-181%2%3%England6068141,023Camden2.93.94.8City of London0.10.10.2Greenwich2.33.13.9Hackney2.12.83.5Hammersmith & Fulham0.61.11.7Islington2.33.13.9Kensington & Chelsea0.81.52.3Lambeth3.14.15.1Lewisham2.63.54.4Southwark2.63.54.4Tower Hamlets2.43.24.0Wandsworth1.62.12.6Westminster1.52.02.5Barking & Dagenham1.52.02.6Barnet4.25.87.4Bexley2.93.84.8Brent3.14.15.1Bromley4.15.46.8Croydon4.45.97.3Ealing1.22.43.6Enfield3.34.45.5Haringey2.73.64.5Harrow3.24.35.3Havering3.34.45.5Hillingdon1.12.23.3Hounslow0.91.82.7Kingston upon Thames2.63.44.3Merton0.81.62.4Newham2.12.83.5Redbridge2.93.94.8Richmond upon Thames3.54.65.8Sutton2.63.54.3Waltham Forest2.73.64.5Barnsley2.33.13.9Birmingham8.711.614.5Bolton2.83.84.7Bradford4.96.58.1Bury2.12.83.5Calderdale2.33.13.9Coventry3.44.55.7Doncaster2.83.74.7Dudley3.14.25.2Gateshead2.33.13.9Kirklees4.56.07.5Knowsley1.31.82.2Leeds8.010.713.4Liverpool4.66.17.7Manchester4.05.36.7Newcastle upon Tyne2.73.64.6North Tyneside2.43.24.0Oldham2.43.24.0Rochdale2.22.93.6Rotherham2.73.64.5Salford2.63.54.4Sandwell2.63.54.3Sefton3.34.55.6Sheffield5.47.29.0Solihull2.73.64.5South Tyneside1.52.02.6St Helens1.92.53.1Stockport3.95.36.6Sunderland2.53.44.2Tameside2.23.03.7Trafford2.53.44.2Wakefield3.44.65.7Walsall3.14.15.2Wigan3.24.25.3Wirral3.64.86.0Wolverhampton2.63.54.4Bath & North East Somerset UA2.43.23.9Bedford UA2.33.03.8Blackburn with Darwen UA1.31.82.2Blackpool UA1.41.92.4Bournemouth UA2.43.24.0Bracknell Forest UA1.52.02.5Brighton & Hove UA3.64.96.1Bristol UA5.47.29.1Central Bedfordshire UA3.95.36.6Cheshire East UA5.47.29.0Cheshire West and Chester UA4.66.17.7City of Nottingham UA2.93.84.8Cornwall UA7.49.912.4Darlington UA1.31.72.1Derby City UA2.43.34.1Durham UA5.67.59.4East Riding of Yorkshire UA4.25.67.1Halton UA1.21.72.1Hartlepool UA1.01.41.7Herefordshire UA2.73.64.5Isle of Wight UA2.22.93.6Isles of Scilly0.00.10.1Kingston upon Hull UA2.12.83.5Leicester City UA2.93.84.8Luton UA1.92.63.3Middlesborough UA1.41.92.3Milton Keynes UA2.93.94.9North East Lincolnshire UA1.72.22.8North Lincolnshire UA1.92.53.1North Somerset UA2.83.74.6Northumberland UA4.45.97.4Peterborough UA1.92.63.2Plymouth UA2.93.84.8Poole UA2.12.83.5Portsmouth UA2.02.63.3Reading UA2.22.93.7Redcar & Cleveland UA1.62.22.7Rutland UA0.70.91.1Shropshire UA3.85.16.4Slough UA1.52.02.5South Gloucestershire UA3.64.86.0Southampton UA2.53.34.2Southend-on-Sea UA2.02.73.4Stockton-on-Tees UA2.33.03.8Stoke-on-Trent UA0.71.42.2Swindon UA2.53.44.2Telford and the Wrekin UA1.72.32.8The Medway Towns UA3.04.15.1Thurrock UA1.72.32.9Torbay UA1.72.32.8Warrington UA2.53.34.1West Berkshire UA2.53.34.1Wiltshire UA6.89.111.4Windsor & Maidenhead UA1.92.53.1Wokingham UA2.63.44.3York UA2.33.13.9Buckinghamshire7.49.912.4Cambridgeshire7.710.312.9Cumbria6.18.110.2Derbyshire8.311.113.9Devon10.113.516.9Dorset6.18.210.2East Sussex7.39.812.2Essex17.223.028.9Gloucestershire7.49.912.4Hampshire16.021.426.8Hertfordshire15.320.425.6Kent17.623.529.5Lancashire12.416.520.7Leicestershire7.510.012.5Lincolnshire7.510.012.5Norfolk10.013.416.8North Yorkshire7.710.312.9Northamptonshire7.710.413.0Nottinghamshire9.312.515.7Oxfordshire9.212.315.4Somerset6.28.210.3Staffordshire8.811.814.8Suffolk8.411.214.0Surrey18.524.831.0Warwickshire7.39.712.2West Sussex11.515.419.3Worcestershire6.89.111.4

Social Services: Finance

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to introduce smoothing mechanisms or adjustments of grants to assist those local authorities where permitted increases in the council tax precept produce insufficient income relative to the demographic demands on their adult social care services.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Local Authorities fund adult social care services through a combination of local taxes and central grants, and make local choices about how much to spend in order to meet their duties.The improved Better Care Fund grant, worth £1.5 Billion in 2019-20 by allocation to local authorities using a methodology which ensures every authority gets its share of the total funding available through this grant and the Social Care precept on council tax, as measured by the social care Relative Needs Formula. The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2017-18, published on 15 December, confirmed this method following a public consultation

Ministry of Justice

County Courts

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to strengthen procedures designed to protect those against whom costs are awarded without their knowing that a case is proceeding in the County Court, resulting in a County Court Judgment being registered on their credit record.

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that companies which sue individuals for non-payment of monies in the county courts have taken adequate steps to ensure that they have the correct and up-to-date address for the person against whom they are taking action, in those cases where the individual does not lodge a defence.

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to penalise companies which repeatedly take action against individuals who do not lodge a defence and who are subsequently discovered not to have received any notification of the relevant County Court action.

Lord Keen of Elie: On 23 December the Ministry of Justice announced a consultation on ways to protect people from having their credit ratings affected despite being unaware of the claims made against them. The consultation, which will be launched in the spring will consider how the current system can be improved and reinforced to ensure that companies take all reasonable steps before they are able to apply to a court for a claim. We will also examine to what extent unscrupulous debt agencies have contributed to the problem. To accompany the consultation the Ministry of Justice will also launch a new public advice campaign on how to protect people unaware of their debts and will remind people of the important of informing companies of their new address.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Directors: Registration

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent people being registered as company directors without being aware of their responsibilities.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Since 10 October 2015, the Registrar of Companies has been required under section 1079B of the Companies Act 2006 to provide newly appointed company directors with information about their duties and responsibilities as a director. This information is contained in a leaflet which the Registrar sends to all newly appointed directors.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Propaganda

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent of misinformation by foreign states and its impact on UK relations with those states; and what action they are taking to counter this.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Relationships between states should be built on honest foundations and our Government takes seriously any attempts by Foreign States to deliberately mislead. We monitor and assess these cases and respond appropriately.

Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the governments of the Falkland Islands and Argentina regarding the desire of the Islanders to remain British; and what assessment they have made of the impact that the territorial dispute will have on the UK becoming a full member of the World Trade Organisation.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and surrounding maritime areas. The principle of and the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter and in Article 1 of the two UN Covenants on human rights means there can be no dialogue on sovereignty unless the Falkland Islanders so wish. The UK Government will always support the right of the Falkland Islanders to determine their own future and we have consistently reiterated this to Argentina.The UK is already a full member of the World Trade Organisation.

Taxation

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British territories have special tax regimes and what action they are taking to address this.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​The Overseas Territories (OTs) are responsible for setting their own rates of taxation, and the Government respects their right to compete in this area. All relevant OTs have committed to greater tax transparency by adopting the new global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information, which will combat tax evasion. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have begun to receive information on the accounts held in OTs by UK taxpayers, one year earlier than from the rest of the world.